JIANGXI, 80; Sichuan, 32; Jinan, 17; Nanjing, 13; Shenzhen, 12; Guangzhou, 8, Fuzhou, 7; These are the total executions meted out by local courts in the past few days to prove their full backing for the on-going campaign against serious crime, particularly graft. Judicial organs at all levels elsewhere in the mainland are set to publicise their own results of the anti-crime struggle in the next few weeks. While China does not release its total death penalty figures, it is likely that this year's total will reach a new height. London-based Amnesty International said at least 1,890 death sentences were handed down last year. Some sources put the figure at more than 5,000, it added. Even the lower figure was the highest count since 1983, when an estimated 10,000 people were executed in a major anti-crime campaign, coined as yanda, or ''hit hard,'' in the communist rhetoric. The latest yanda campaign was launched in July when signs of economic shambles and social disorder emerged. The crackdown intensified last month when the ruling party ordered a crusade against official corruption, described as a matter of ''life and death'' for communist rule. Earlier, the central government also orchestrated a battle against smuggling activities, which spread dramatically along the country's coastal belt last year. Zhang Xin, a mainland legal expert based at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, laments that the cardinal principle of ''politics in command'' has been applied to the anti-crime battle. ''The degree of application of the death penalty depends very much on the political situation of the country. When a yanda campaign is underway, violators of a wide range of crimes could face the death penalty,'' he said. ''Law has and always needs to serve political purposes in China.'' Senior leaders have underscored the significance of an orderly society and clean government as well as party to make sure that the absolute power of the central authorities will not be challenged and undermined. This is of vital significance. The central government has felt increasingly insecure with the growing economic, if not political, clout of the regions, which has been seen, ironically, as a product of economic success since 1978. Supreme People's Court President Ren Jianxin vowed at the end of July to sentence to death anyone guilty of crimes that have harmed the country's image or jeopardised economic reforms. On the list of major crimes were corruption and bribery that have seriously infringed on the interests of the country and destroyed the reputation of the Communist Party and the Government, the top judge said. ''For those criminals of extremely bad nature that must be killed, we must steadfastly sentence them to death in accordance with law. [We] must never have a soft hand,'' Ren told heads of local courts. Legal experts and human rights campaigners say it is clear that the ruling party has foisted political and extra-legal demands on the judicial authorities, which were supposedly independent in the Chinese hierarchy. Zhang, a specialist on Chinese laws, said a total of 49 kinds of crimes were subject to a maximum penalty of death, ranging from murder, espionage and rape. He pointed out, however, some offences that have caused ''serious consequences'' or ''extremely bad impact'' could also be punishable by death. ''Put it simply, whether a death penalty has been given always hinges upon the [political] circumstances,'' Zhang noted. What might be seen as petty crimes elsewhere have been harshly dealt with in the socialist country. THOSE guilty of economic crimes involving more than 50,000 yuan in most of the provinces face the maximum penalty of death. But the amount varies from province to province. Some have a lower upper limit of 30,000 yuan. Two farmers were executed in Guangzhou in May for selling panda fur for 3,500 yuan to Hong Kong customers. In January, three men were shot in Beijing for setting off explosions at the Temple of Heaven, once a sacred place for worship and now one of the capital's major tourist attractions. Official reports did not say if the hall was damaged. At the height of the anti-pornography campaign, criminals alleged to have organised prostitution rings were also executed. On Monday, the Supreme People's Court rejected appeals from eight financial workers charged with embezzlement. They were executed in what officials called the biggest embezzlement cases since 1949. Earlier this month, a police chief in the southern city of Huizhou was also sentenced to death for corruption. Accused of accepting bribes to allow the import of smuggled cars and helping would-be illegal immigrants to leave China, Hong Yonglin was one of the first officials to be put to death since the anti-corruption crackdown started last month. Zhang said: ''The Number 1 Enemy in China now is corruption. The execution of the eight [financial workers] was a typical showcase to deter others from committing crimes.'' The legal expert maintained that a society with ''law in command'' was what China should steer towards in the long-run. ''Everyone must be equal before the law.'' Robin Munro of Asia Watch, a New-York based human rights organisation, who is based in Hong Kong, said: ''The key point is that these [death] sentences are politically determined. It's a political manipulation of the judicial process.'' The human rights activist cast doubts on whether the ''hit them hard'' tactic would bear fruit, arguing that problems such as corruption are deep-rooted. ''The party knows that the people are upset by the problem of corruption. [By handing out execution orders] they want to impress the public that they are tackling the problem in the fundamental way.'' Mr Munro warned that the political manipulation of an independent judiciary was dangerous because the ''minimal safeguards [against violations of human rights] will be swept aside.'' He is also worried that defendants would not be given the right to defence and appeal under a yanda campaign, when trials and verdicts were often delivered quickly and the possibility of wrong sentences was higher.
